The Fading Flakes

    Winter begins again. Simone is going to the park for a walk. She feels not good recently, because of the bad disease.

    Alongside the lake, sitting on the bench, the falling leaves going with the flow, Simone is just wandering. Then, a flake is falling with the dead leaves, slightly. It must be the first flake this winter. Stayed in her hand, just for one second, the snow flake disappears gradually, from white, to transparent, and to a drop, then nothing.

    She still remembers the old days with Paul when they were high school, and they were really happy then. Meanwhile, she still remembers the snowy night when she asked for an ending of their relationship, and also the shiny tears on his face. Things have gone, and everything changed. No one can go back again, like the flake just now.

    Paul called her this afternoon. He said he dreamed that Simone was in a bad situation, and he wanted to have a look to assure whether she is ok, just have a look. It has been six years since they broke up, without even a glimpse between them. Simone is always rough and stubborn, which is not changed by time.

    It snows heavier. The snowflakes are even bigger, dancing happily.

    On the way home, she dials the numbers…

Her hands are trembling. “So fucking cold weather”, shouting loudly.

The other side answers, “Hello”?

“Hi, it’s me. I’m waiting for you on the bus station near my house, now.”

“……”

“Hello”?

“Yeah, I’m listening. I just…are you seriously”?

“Yes”.

“Ok, waiting for me.”

She can here the running steps.

Simone is standing there, still. So many old thing showed up in her mind, but she can’t recall the details. Time faded things silently.

She takes out her cellphone and looks at the reflection on the screen, to make sure that she looks pretty. She puts on lipstick and smiles. A snowflake falls down the screen, it’s so marvelous, just like the feather from an angel’s wings.

The phone rings, “The traffic is bad, sorry for waiting longer.”

“It’s ok”.

“It’s so cold outside, I’m sorry”.

“Never mind”.

She looks up, the snow under the lamps light is so beautiful, but none of them can stay. For one second, she feels she is flying up, slightly, like snowflakes, higher to the sky.

The phone rings again, “Where are you? Is the station 8th revenue”?

“Yeah, I’m standing here, under the lamp. Can you see me”?

“No, there are two girls, but not you”.

“Maybe you are on the new street, which is built one month ago”.

“Oh my God, just few minutes, waiting for me”.

“Ok”.

Simone is wondering whether he changed or not, the hair, the clothes style, or whether he still smokes much. She has imagined many times about the moment when they met again. She wants to show a happy face to Paul.

Twenty minutes later, he doesn’t even appear.

She dials the number again and again, but no one answers.

The police car is speeding up, alarming, and ambulance responses.

It stops snowing.

One of the snowflakes falls down her eyelash, blocks her eyesight, but disappeared by the tears, falling down her face.

In front of her, the snow is colored into red, bloody red. But in her world, all colors are faded away.